Tesla on Nissan home turf – click to enlarge
A Tesla driver from Georgia was visiting Nissan HQ in Franklin TN this morning and he/she took advantage of the visitor charging stations at the Nissan HQ building.
The charge port is in the rear on the Model S, so the driver backed-in to the parking space. The cable has plenty of length, I wonder why the driver didn’t just pull in frontwards? Maybe Tesla drivers have got accustomed to reversing into parking spaces to charge. I have never seen a Model S plugged into a standard EV charging station and wondered if it needed a special adapter, the Tesla Plug is very different from the standard plug. I was surprised to see the standard plug fit the Model S without the need for an adapter. Tesla have designed a neat socket on the vehicle so that it can accept several different plugs without an adapter.
Model S charge port with standard J1772 plug inserted.
Nissan and Tesla are both committed global EV suppliers, so I am glad to see a Tesla driver come by to say hi!. Many other car manufacturers are less enthusiastic about EV’s and make just enough EV’s to satisfy regulatory requirements, such as California’s CARB. The only other manufacturer currently showing promise is BMW, and we saw a BMW i3 at Nissan HQ recently as well.
Update: 2014-11-12
The day after I posted this article the owner left a comment on Plugshare thanking Nissan for the charge and keeping his battery warm overnight. The Tesla is from Atlanta and took advantage of the Supercharger at Chattanooga to make the journey to Nashville and back. No word when Tesla will install a Supercharger in Nashville.
Here is the comment left on Plugshare.
Hitendra 8 days ago
Thank you Nissan North America. I was in Franklin, TN for a family wedding this weekend, and your corp HQ level 2 charger was able to keep our Tessie charged up (and the battery warm overnight during the freezing cold). ATL-Nashville is a breeze (using the Chattanooga SC to top up) now. Best of all, the charging is FREE.
Tesla Model 3 
Hey JP, I have been considering the purchase of a leaf and came across your blog (huge fan).
I actually work within a half mile of the Nissan HQ and was wondering if you charge there often, and if so do you need to sign up for a Charging account? I live in Mount Juliet, and being able to charge near work would be awesome. Also is this one of those 3o minute/80% chargers or one of the level 2 chargers? Thanks so much!
Hi Stephen!
We are work neighbors then!! I work close to the HQ as well and come from Hendersonville each day. Cool Springs is an ideal EV commuter destination thanks to the density of level 3 rapid charge units in this area.
I charge at Nissan HQ most days, other times I charge at a local MAPCO station or Nissan of Cool Springs. Nissan provide this as a courtesy to their visitors and retail customers, so no need to join a network or pay a fee. They have both the rapid charge level 3 units (80% limited) and the 240v standard level 2 charging units. They have 3 rapid charge units (1 outside the front door and 2 in an adjacent parking lot) and 6 standard units (2 out front, the other 4 in an adjacent lot). So there is plenty of redundancy in case a unit is busy or out of service.
Some Nashville area MAPCO’s are part of the NRG eVgo network, so I would suggest getting one of the eVgo cards, they are $5 one time fee for ‘pay as you go’ and this can be converted to a monthly subscription plan at anytime.
Hope you decide to buy a LEAF and also hope we bump into each other sometime soon for a coffee.
Hi,
Just for reference – the Model S does indeed use a proprietary connector. What your close-up picture shows is the J1772 connector plugged into the black adapter, which is plugged into the Model S proprietary connector. You can verify this on the Tesla website. All new Model S come with a total of three adapters with more available for purchase.
Thanks for that insight Ernie!!
Thanks for the info. JP. Less than 100 miles of range per day, sort of gives me range anxiety before I even buy, but knowing that I can charge up in Franklin, eases a lot of that anxiety. I am considering the S and the SL, and am trying to figure out what the 6.6kw onboard charger adds, is that the ability to use the level 3 charger? Thanks again, for being so helpful.
Your commute looks like its just over 60 miles, a little less than my 73 and my battery is 22% degraded. (The 2011/12 LEAF’s had weak batteries in hot climates). I am making the commute fine with a charge each day in Franklin. I did a similar commute last year to Brentwood; 60 miles round trip with workplace charging. It was no big deal.
The 2013 LEAF’s onwards have 11 miles more range than the 2011/12, so you should have no concerns. With careful driving in ECO and with max regen (B mode) expect to exceed the EPA range by 5-10 miles. Even with a degraded battery you should make the commute fine.
Level 3 charging is done via the quick charge port, be sure to get one of those for sure.
The 6.6kWh onboard charger doubles the charge speed at most level 2 charge stations. 3.3kWh = 12 miles/hr charge rate, 6.6kWh = 24 miles/hr charge rate. Blink units are limited to 24 amps right now, so 18 miles/hr is the practical limit on those. If you buy a level 2 unit for home, get a 30 amp unit or better.
I forgot to mention that with the purchase of a new LEAF you get 2 years free charging at public charging locations in the Nashville area. Its marketed as ‘no charge to charge’. The dealer should issue you with a special card that gets the free charging (Nissan get billed, not you). The card works at Blink, CharegPoint (I think) and eVgo stations, both level 2 and 3.
A LEAF was my first electric car, then I traded it in when I bought my Model S. The Nissan charging unit installed on the outside of my house (NY) works perfectly with the J1772 adapter at the end of each day when I “top off” the battery on the Model S.
Sorry about that JP, (would you mind deleting the previous post as it was mine. also id love to exchange emails so i could just ask my questions to you directly) Would a leaf be able to use a Tesla Supercharger? If so would there be a cost? I have been driving by the Nissan HQ in the morning and occasionally there is a free charger but most mornings they are all full. I see a row of them (25+ estimated) that looks like it is reserved for employees only. Thanks again JP.
OK Stephen. Email me at jpwhite3@bellsouth.net and we can correspond offline. I can answer your questions via email if you prefer.